St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-04-05
RUMBLE OF THE RAILS.
The Pennsylvania Lines Propose to Com
pei the Northwestern Roads to
Surrender,
And to Force Them to Stop Paying Com
missions to the Frisky Soalper
and Runner.
Gen. John Nj cNulta, of Blooming ton.
ILL.,. Is Made the New Wabash
Receiver.
Interstate Commerce Commissioner
Listen 10 Quite a Number of
Arguments.

Some time ago the Pennsylvania lines de-
termined to stop the practice of paying com
missions TO ticket agents and ScalperS, and all
other persons that make a good living OFT
the railroads through commissions. Accord
ingly, some time in March. they issued very
peremptory orders to all their employees in
which they forbid them from accepting airy
commission, remuneration or gratuity, what
ever. from any source whatsoever, for any
real or pretended service IN connection there
with, except from the company which EN-
ployed them. 1t also forbid their employees
showing any favoritiSm towards any particu-
lar route. The penalty fixed for any violation
of these instructions was declared to be imme-
date dismissal from the employ of the COM
pany for which the individual worked. Thus
the PENNSYLVANIA lines having set their own
house in order, proceeded to set the houses of
all other people in like order, and it is quite
probable that they will succeed in regulating
the houses of all other people. In order tn
do this these trunk lines proceeded on the
18th of March to issue to all the Northwestern
roads. and others in this direction, TO the
number of twenty-five or thirty, peremp-
tory circular in which they say that, lin
view of the severe penalties for infractionS
OF the law, neither of these companies can
consent TO act as agent OF your company in
the issuance and sale of through tickets, ex-
eept upon the following conditions: Then
followed five conditions. OF course there is
one condition i'll all these five that is import
ant and this is the one. to-wlt: You pr omiSe
not to pay, either directly or indirectly, Il
commission, or any consideration whatever,
to agents or employees of these companies or
20 any person OF persons, on account of the
purchase or sale of tickets issued by these
companies at its regular ticket offices or at
other places in the territory adjacent thereto.
Some Of the roads in the Northwest, in tact
ali of them except the Milwaukee & St. Paul,
the st. Paul Il Duluth and one or two others,
Joined in Il communication in reply, in which
the roads all agreed to all the propositions in
the circular except that refusing to pay coui-
missions. This was not at all satisfactory to
the trunk lines. They were very domineering
and seemed to regard themselves in posi-
ton from which they would not, under any
GIRO umstances, recede, and to which all the
Northwestern roads would have to come.
Yesterday all the Northwestern roads except
the Milwaukee Il St. Paul, the Minneapolis s.
Pacific and the st. Paul Il Duluth, received
notice from the Pennsylvania lines to the
effect that their tickets were ordered Off sale
by the Pennsylvania roads, and that no
OF which roads over such of the Northwestern
roads would be sold or recognized by
them. All the roads here that are thus shut
out were in doubt what to do and several OF
them telegraphed to Chicago for Instructions,
but the railroad men in Chicago claimed not
to understand what it meant. One of them
asked the agent here where he got the Cir
cular, and expressed the idea that it would
come out all right, aud this is the way the
matter stood last night. 1t seems to be an
effort on the part of the trunk lines to force
the Northwestern roads to abolish the paying
of commission. If the trunk lines can hold to
the compact they can undoubtedly compel
the Northwestern roads to surrender, but
there is no certainty that they can do this.